John 18:37 – Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
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Christians will say a lot to be thought of as tolerant; especially since the world has branded Christianity as intolerant or closed-minded. We, of course, are actually closed-minded, as we believe that there is only one way to heaven—through Jesus. But, as many Christians attempt to share the gospel with people from other religions, often they are tempted to say something to make themselves look more tolerant and open-minded. Such a statement might sound like this: “We know that there is truth in all religions.”
That statement may sound open-minded, and it is in fact open-minded, but it is not true to Christianity; and we would do well to stop using it. Look again at the words of Jesus to Pilate in the verse above. Jesus said that everyone who is on the side of truth hears his voice. Jesus is claiming exclusive ownership of truth. In John 14:6, Jesus claimed to himself be the truth. So, while there maybe correct statements of fact in other world religions, we ought never to go so far as to say that those religions have truth in them.
Let me illustrate. Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists would all generally agree that committing murder is wrong. Because of that fact, many Christians would argue that Islam and Buddhism have “truth” in them. However, we do not actually agree as to why murder is wrong. Buddhists might say that murder is wrong because of the cosmic connection between all living things (I’m guessing here, as I really don’t know). But that is most certainly not the reason why murder is wrong from a Christian understanding. A Muslim may say that murder is wrong because the Creator has declared it to be wrong. This, of course, sounds really true. However, we must recognize that Christians and Muslims have a fundamental disagreement about the identity of the Creator. Thus, while Muslims and Christians agree that the one who created us declares murder to be wrong, we are on opposite ends of the spectrum as to who that Creator is. So, while the Buddhist and the Muslim agree with the Christian that we ought not murder, we do not agree from fundamental truth. Thus, we must not say that the Buddhist and Muslim opposition to murder is “truth” in those religions.
The fact is, Jesus declared that all who grasp truth hear his voice. He claims exclusive right to the claim of truth. For us to say that other religions have truth, then, is for us to declare that other religions have Jesus. Since other religions do not have Jesus, other religions do not have truth, not real Truth with a capital T.
Christians, it is time to stop trying to win points with those with whom you are sharing the gospel by compromising the claims of Christ. Jesus claims to be the truth. Tell them that instead of trying to make them think you are an open-minded person by accepting part of their religion. Christianity is an all-or-nothing proposition. It is Jesus or nothing. So, let’s make sure that we do not say anything different. Jesus is the truth, and that is enough.
Pastor Travis Peterson 
I think that what people are saying when they claim that there is “truth” in other religions is that they acknowledge several tenets of general revelation (everything that God is saying about himself outside the Bible). General revelation is a lot shakier than special revelation in that it is harder to nail down specifics about God with any degree of accuracy from examining nature, but creation does still say something about its Creator.When Buddhists say that they believe that murder is wrong, they are reacting in some way to the law of God that is written on their hearts (Romans 2:15). Just because they put this conviction within some other system of belief does not mean that their conviction is not true. Ultimately it came from God’s revelation of the nature of human life that he imprinted upon their hearts.I don’t think that we want to deny that unbelievers have access to some truth. God is constantly declaring his glory and his character all over the place (Romans 1), although it is true that the consummation and correct understanding of all of this comes only through the gospel as revelaed in the word.
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Good point. I will agree that general revelation is given by God in order to teach all humanity that God exists and that we need him. General revelation teaches humanity a basic morality which should include my murder illustration. But, I still hold that, in terms of ultimate truth, final truth, lasting truth, Truth with a capital T, all world religions are deficient. They do not know Jesus, and thus, no matter how many facts they have right, they still do not know the One who is the Truth. Thus, I think it dangerous for Christians to dialogue with these people by beginning with a declaration that their religion has truth. Instead, I’d prefer to see Christians drop the fear of man and say something like what Paul said: “For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.. . . The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:23, 30-31) Did Paul acknowledge that they had a concept of something real? Sure. But he did not come to them and stroke their egos or try to make himself look open-minded by telling them, “Now, I know there is truth in your religion.” Instead he told them that they had some things that were on the right track, but they still didn’t have the truth yet. They had to repent and come to know the one God raised from the dead if they really wanted truth in their religion.Am I being a bit unfair by tightening the definition of truth when what I should have been saying is ultimate truth? Probably. And I do that in order to make the point that we should not give people a false confidence about their religion by opening with a declaration that their religion has given them some truth. I think this especially unnecessary since God will be the one to awaken sin-deadened hearts to real truth when it is presented; so we do not need the “Your religion has truth too” argument as a persuasive tool.
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